Decision : 34 COM 7B.87
Upper Middle Rhine Valley (Germany) (C 1066)

3. Acknowledges the receipt of the full Environmental Impact Assessment, the new Traffic Evaluation of bridge, tunnel and ferries and the Visual Impact Assessment supplied by the State Party;

4. Notes that:

a) The Environmental Impact Assessment clearly demonstrates the overall sensitivity of the Rhine Valley landscape and the adverse impact that the proposed bridge would have on the cultural landscape,

b) The traffic evaluation demonstrates that the bridge represents the most economically favorable solution, and

c) The Visual Impact Study demonstrates that, if the valley north of St. Goar and St. Goarhausen is in some way of lesser importance to the overall Outstanding Universal Value of the property than the area immediately to its south, then the bridge could be considered acceptable in visual terms;

5. Also notes that the State Party considers that it is essential that a "master plan" for the property is developed as the planned Rhine bridge represents only one building block of many in this context of necessary measures;

6. Also acknowledges the intense cooperation undertaken to preserve the Outstanding Universal Value and the detailed information provided so far, and requests to continue the close dialogue in the course of the now starting national planning process.

7. Considers that it is essential that any development of the valley not only sustains Outstanding Universal Valuebut also contributes to the overall sustainable development of the property, and that a Master Plan should be developed setting out a vision for the property and how it will be realized over the next few decades and thus setting out the further measures that might be associated with a new bridge;

8. Further acknowledges receipt of the draft Statement of Outstanding Universal Value that will be reviewed by the Advisory Bodies and presented to the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session;

9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2011 a report on the progress of the Master Plan, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session in 2011.